Mismanaged Union County MusicFest should be shut down

Mark Dye/For The Star-LedgerSandy Schlenoff, Rockaway, and Ilene Cohen, Cranford, watch as Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs at the Union County MusicFest in Clark in 2009.

Each year for the past 14 years, Union County has held MusicFest, a multiple-day event featuring popular musicians, children’s acts and local artists. Admission is free, but the thousands who attend spend wads of cash on parking, attractions, food and drink.

How much do they spend exactly? We’ll never know. Why? Because the county employees and officials running the event and the concessionaires keep shoddy records — if they keep any records at all.

In Union County, they use the “trust me” accounting method.

• How many cars parked at $10 a pop? We’re not sure, because the parking lot counter isn’t accurate, but trust me, the money is all there.

• How many beers were sold at the Beer Garden?We’re not sure. We took the bartenders’ word, but trust me, the money is all there.

• How much was made on the kiddie rides?There’s no method for counting the tickets, but trust me, it’s all there.

To which we reply: This is New Jersey. We trust no one with cash, and for good reason.

For years, trying to follow the MusicFest money has been dizzying. Who knows how much could have been skimmed? So this year, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office decided to investigate. It found the bookkeeping was so lousy last year — and probably every year — that nobody can tell whether money was stolen. Receipts? Records? What are those?

The prosecutor’s office found no criminal wrongdoing (because, ironically, there were few records), but discovered that a vendor nearly ripped off the county for $24,281.68. A refund has been ordered. If Union County — which spends roughly $800,000 to stage the event — lost this much in 2010, was it cheated out of money the other 13 years? And why didn’t a county official spot this?

The report from Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow makes suggestions on how MusicFest should be run: Cash should be given to “a designated, responsible county employee,” record-keeping must improve and so on. Common-sense suggestions used at most church bake sales.

Here’s another recommendation Romankow couldn’t make: Kill the event.

The 2010 MusicFest legacy is shameful and embarrassing: The county finance director allowed $37,507 to be placed in a safe in his office without a receipt. Money raised for charity might have been co-mingled with other receipts. Vendors were paid with cash receipts. Money was misplaced.

New county manager Alfred Faella should shut down this fiscal disaster. And Romankow, if he eventually uncovers criminal activity, should prosecute, of course.

Romankow’s report says “the use of public monies demands much more than it received.”